This invention relates to tip up systems for ice fishing -- i.e., signalling devices for notifying the ice fisherman that a fish has hit at the lure -- as well as to heating devices for keeping ice fishing holes free of ice and slush. Variations and some combinations of these devices have been developed but are frequently difficult to transport and/or operate.
There are essentially three major problems with which the ice fisherman must deal: 1. keeping ice from forming around his line in the hole; 2. keeping his reel from freezing after the line has gotten wet; and 3. keeping warm. While other inventions have attempted to solve one or another of these problems in various ways, the present invention directly deals with the first two, while leaving the fisherman free to deal with the third as he sees fit.
Some devices have been developed which do attempt to address all three of these problems. Stelmach U.S. Pat. No. 3,387,401 issued on June 11, 1968 is indicative of the state of the prior art. A pot loaded with a combustible fuel such as coal is used as a radiant heat source for keeping the water in an ice fishing hole from freezing. The same heat source warms water which flows through a coil to a location near the fishing reel to keep the reel from freezing. Additionally, a tip up mechanism is provided for notifying a fisherman that a fish has taken the bait.
Godbout U.S. Pat. No. 4,131,l07 issued on Dec. 26, 1978 provides for a smaller, collapsible box containing a heat source which keeps ice from forming in the ice fishing hole. However, the Godbout device requires the presence of the fisherman to tend his line, and it provides: no means for preventing a fishing reel from freezing.
Finally, Johnson U.S. Pat. No. 4,253,262 issued on Mar. 3, 1981 provides an alternative method for maintaining the ice fishing hole free of ice; it offers a signalling mechanism; and it even provides a means to keep the reel from freezing. However, the entire unit must be lifted out of the hole to access the fishing reel, which is located beneath the surface of the water.
With this background in mind, an ice fishing apparatus with a tip up mechanism and a means for preventing the freeze-up of the fishing reel and the water in the ice fishing hole has been developed.